Terror Forty-Seven - Luna

“Luna?” I repeat.

I shouldn’t be focusing on the name. This girl just blew my cover; I should be more worried about her running back and telling the others at the academy that we’re here. But there’s something about the name...

The girl is striking. I didn’t get to see her all that well earlier. She’s taller than I am by half a head, with pretty but sharp features and hair that’s cropped short. Not boyishly so, but still not very long. She’s also a lot more developed than I or any of my friends are.

“What did you say?” I ask.

She glares. “I asked you why you have Luna’s face, monster.”

That name again. It’s strangely familiar. Not in the sense that it’s a name for the moon. I know that. I don’t know how to explain it. It’s not like hearing an unfamiliar word and recalling its meaning, it’s something else.

“Valeria?” Felix whispers.

Right, I can’t afford to get distracted. My friends aren’t fighters. Esme can zap someone good, and Felix has her wind magic, but neither have any training and I don’t think they’d be able to last long in a fight. Which means that if it comes to that, it’s up to me and my little friends. “Felix, Esme, start packing things up.”

“There’s a cart over there,” Esme says with a nod to the lower part of the room. There is, in fact, a cart, unhitched and sitting there. It doesn’t look too big.

“Fill it up, and cover it with a tarp,” I say. There are some of those lying around. “Tie it up good. We don’t want books flying off.”

“Hey!” the girl shouts.

I step towards her. “I don’t know who Luna is,” I say as I tug my hood back on. “My name’s Valeria.”

“They’re naming monsters now?” she asks.

“Some of them, yeah,” I say.

She takes a couple of steps into the room, then shifts one foot forward, the other bending at the knee. She loosens her shoulders with a bounce and brings her arms up in a boxer’s stance.

“Uh,” I say. “This is all a misunderstanding?”

“You’re a monster here to steal from the academy,” she says. “Got anything to un-misunderstand that?”

“Uh.”

“In that case, it’s my duty to take you out and protect the school. Count yourself lucky I don’t have my sword.”

I huff. Some people just don’t want to listen. “Look, whoever you are, we’re just taking back what this place stole from us, that’s all.”

“Yeah, sure,” she says. “Pull the other one.”

I roll my eyes. Who is this sassy child? “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“Why, because I’m a girl?” she asks, a sarcastic lilt to her voice.

“Huh? I’m a girl too, idiot.”

“Don’t call me an idiot, moron,” she snaps back.

I glare.

She glares back.

“Fine,” I say. A quick glance behind me reveals that Felix is helping Esme load up the cart with whatever books they can get their hands on. She keeps glancing my way though. “If you want to fight, then we can fight.”

I shift to the side, weight moving to the balls of my feet even as I squat down a pinch. I bring my left arm out towards her, palm flat in her direction, and my right hand closes into a fist near my tummy.

“Good,” she says. “I have anger to bleed.”

“Yeah, I can tell,” I say. “Are all the students in this place as dumb as you?”

She growls and then her fists catch on fire.

“Is that a... yes?” I ask. I’m not focusing on banter anymore. She’s a cultivator. Anger, at the very least, which means plenty of fire. Dark magic counters fire decently well; I should be alright. As long as I have more to draw on than she does. Fire magic, according to what I’ve read, tends to burn out quickly.

“My name is Lily Schild, defender of humanity, and I’m gonna kick your butt.”

Lily... that’s...I snort, a very silly name. I put a lid on it before it turns into a giggle. I can’t afford to laugh now. Instead I force my thoughts around, to all the books in the room, to this arrogant girl who doesn’t even see what’s wrong here, to the people who think that Mom is evil without knowing her, and most of all, I consider myself. I’ve failed a bunch so far. I haven’t been doing the best. I messed up with Esme....

I’m not entirely in the best mindset, but I still feel that little kernel of disgust writhing in my core. It’s like spotting a dead fly on your ice cream, there even if you don’t want it to be.

My core roils and soon I can feel dark magic flowing through my body. The first step is hardening and increasing my endurance. I can’t afford to be hurt here. I don’t think Lily can get past that kind of defence.

“Come on, Lily,” I say.

She growls and runs towards me. “Don’t call me that with her voice!” she yells.

I step to the side, avoiding the first wild haymaker she swings at me... only it never really comes, she pulls back and out of the punch, and the next thing I know she’s kicking me hard in the back of the leg.

A feint?

I grunt and spin around with the blow rather than try to resist it. It doesn’t hurt, not with Dark magic protecting me, but I can’t do much about the momentum of the attack.

I use the spin to fling an arm out, the back of my hand reaching out towards Lily’s face.

She ducks under the blow, then sends a quick jab my way. There’s no way it’ll land though.

The fireball that exits her fist and catches me in the face is a surprise. Hot! Not enough to burn, but still unpleasant. I stumble back, and Lily is right on me.

She’s got some experience fighting, I should have guessed as much. Heck, she goes to a fighting school and-- and I don’t have time to be distracted.

I hop to the side, clumsy on my feet. Lily is still moving, her anger obvious even as she punches towards me more often.

Ducking under one small fireball, I gasp as a second smacks me in the shoulder and sets my robes alight.

I hold back a scream and try to control my emotions. Fear isn’t what I need. In fact, fear would be terrible for me. I have some practice with other emotions, but not enough to use them in a fight.

The short amount of time I’ve gained from stepping back lets me glance around. We’re approaching the desks where books are stacked up.

Books!

I reach behind me and grab a heavy looking book. Some sort of encyclopedia, and with a swing I bat the next fireball out of the air. I have a weapon!

I push dark magic into the book and black clouds ooze off of it, the book hardening and becoming an extension of my power. A weak, super-inefficient extension, but it’s what I have to work with.

“Dark magic,” Lily growls.

“And you have terrible anger issues,” I spit back. “Keep throwing stones, Miss Glasshouse.”

Lily growls and swings for my face.

I hold up the book before me.

The thump of her fist smacking into the front cover is just as satisfying as her hiss of pain.

“You jerk!” she screams.

“Serves you right,” I say. It’s my turn to move in. I lower the book, then stab forwards with it, spine held like the hilt of a knife.

Lily shoves my arm aside, walks into my guard, and hooks a foot behind mine. Before I can react she shoves me, both burning hands ramming into my chest.

I try to pull back, but my foot is caught in hers and all I do is land on my bum with a crash.

“Hey!” I shout.

Lily grins and lands on my chest, legs on either side of me. “Stupid monster,” she growls. Her hand comes back, fist burning even brighter now.

I swing for her head with my book-armed hand, but she catches me with her upper arm, then grabs the flat of the book and twists. I can’t keep hold of it.

I stare as my one weapon is tossed aside.

“Rude,” I swear.

“I’ll show you rude,” she says.

Her fist swings down.

I ram my head forwards to meet it, forehead first.

There’s a sharp crack of pain and I wince as the back of my head bangs against the wooden floor. But the hiss from Lily makes it totally worth it.

She’s cradling her hand, which I don’t think is broken, but it’s certainly bruised. Which means she’s not paying attention...

I wrap her by the waist and roll myself over. She crashes to the side and we’re soon halfway under a desk. “See how you like it!” I say as I prepare to punch her.

Lily raises a hand before my face and I recoil as a gout of flames bursts out of her palm. My move backwards isn’t smart, not when there’s a heavy desk above me.

“Ow!” I scream as my head smacks the desk. It doesn’t actually hurt much, but still, it’s the thought that counts.

Lily uses the opportunity to bring her legs up and she shoves me in the chest, though the momentum mostly just sends her sliding back out the other side of the desk.

We both scramble to our feet, then glare at each other across the desk. “Alright,” Lily says. “Time for the big guns.”

How does she even know what guns are?!

I don’t have time to ask, as Lily bursts into flames and I have bigger things to worry about.

***